Developed by Procter and Gamble, olestra actually showed to lower cholesterol in a study that was approved by the FDA. However, do you see how this can quickly backfire? If people know the product contains no fat, they are more likely to eat "top of the pyramid" foods, aka junk, which contain little to no nutrients so in turn actually not being a healthy choice at all. PLUS we need some fat like MUFA's and PUFA's in order to absord fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. If there is no fat in a product, then you can fortify it all you want with those vitamins...they won't be absorbed well. Olestra pretty much only addressed the fat issue and Americans would eat more of the olestra product because of the fat calories they would save overall, but that just defeats the purpose!
Another thing that's messed up about Olestra is that many people experience diarrhea after consumption because its practically a laxative. I don't know about you, but I don't want to worry about sitting on the toilet for an hour after eating chips that probably don't taste that great anyway. Overall, Olestra is not the smartest way to improve your overall health.
On a side note, if you order Gingerale at restaurants, they don't actually have real gingerale; it's actually sprite with a splash of coke, so don't be fooled by the restaurant industry's tricky ways to save some Washingstons..
